Caroline Bancroft

Caroline Bancroft,
Journalist, Historian
1900 - 1985
INDUCTED 1990

A journalist, historian and third-generation Coloradan, Caroline Bancroft called Denver’s history “alive and kicking” — she was also describing herself.

Bancroft was notorious for her lively, larger than life histories and biographies. Bancroft’s books were among the first to tell the stories of legendary Colorado women like Baby Doe Tabor, Augusta Tabor, Margaret Brown, and “Six Racy Madams of Colorado.” In her memory, the Denver Public Library awards the annual “Bancroft History Prize” to the best book on Colorado or Western American history.

“I improve history when it seems logical. My characters talk, dress up, and get involved in things because history has to have popular appeal. I put in the truth and the folklore, too.” — Caroline Bancroft